the po~et 5 (the woman)

It was the first day of the Fall quarter. Paul was an English Professor at Miami University. He loved teaching, but mainly he loved teaching students who took their education seriously. He enjoyed his summer breaks, his short sabbaticals when he re-grouped for the next quarter. This is when he wrote the most and filled his mind.

He always took a heavy work load to prevent the emptiness from overtaking his life. He opens his office, it had been closed since June. Everything was just as he left it. The small space overflowed with books similar to how his study looked at home. He briefly overlooks the names of the students in his first class and leaves to begin the new year.

When he opens the door to his class the majority of his students are already there. Standing at the printer in the middle of the room was his vision manifested right before him. At first he was puzzled, he didn't expect her to come to him so soon. Then he was upset because she was his student.

She took her seat right up front. He anxiously called the role trying to guess which one belonged to her. When she finally responded to a name he called he smiled. The words rolled off his tongue like he had been waiting to taste them.

He wishes for the next class when he will see her again.